formen — German conjugation
to form
Indicative
Present (Präsens) Regular
Präsens is the default present for facts, habits, and near-future plans. German has no continuous aspect in the same way as English, so a single form often covers both “I work” and “I am working” when you add a time adverb or context.
Ich arbeite heute im Homeoffice.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | forme | I form |
| du | formst | you form |
| er/sie/es | formt | he/she/it forms |
| wir | formen | we form |
| ihr | formt | you (pl.) form |
| sie/Sie | formen | they form |
Simple past (Präteritum) Regular
Präteritum is a narrative past, common in print and in northern speech, while southern speakers lean on the perfect in conversation. sein and haben keep their Präteritum even when you otherwise avoid the preterite.
Er war müde, aber er hatte keinen Kaffee mehr.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | formte | I formed |
| du | formtest | you formed |
| er/sie/es | formte | he/she/it formed |
| wir | formten | we formed |
| ihr | formtet | you (pl.) formed |
| sie/Sie | formten | they formed |
Present perfect (Perfekt) Regular
The Perfekt is the everyday past for finished events: auxiliary haben or sein plus participle, with sein for most motion, coming/going, and some change-of-state verbs.
Wir sind rechtzeitig angekommen und haben gefeiert.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | habe geformt | I have formed |
| du | hast geformt | you have formed |
| er/sie/es | hat geformt | he/she/it has formed |
| wir | haben geformt | we have formed |
| ihr | habt geformt | you (pl.) have formed |
| sie/Sie | haben geformt | they have formed |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) Regular
The Plusquamperfekt is the pluperfect: it marks what had already completed before a later past episode in the same narrative.
Sie war schon gegangen, bevor er ankam.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | hatte geformt | I had formed |
| du | hattest geformt | you had formed |
| er/sie/es | hatte geformt | he/she/it had formed |
| wir | hatten geformt | we had formed |
| ihr | hattet geformt | you (pl.) had formed |
| sie/Sie | hatten geformt | they had formed |
Future I (Futur I) Regular
Futur I is for predictions, firm promises, and also probability about the present in colloquial German. Everyday speech very often uses Präsens plus a time expression instead.
Morgen schneit es, sagt der Wetterbericht.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde formen | I will form |
| du | wirst formen | you will form |
| er/sie/es | wird formen | he/she/it will form |
| wir | werden formen | we will form |
| ihr | werdet formen | you (pl.) will form |
| sie/Sie | werden formen | they will form |
Future II (Futur II) Regular
Futur II (werden + participle + haben/sein) names an action that will be completed before a later time, and can also express a guess that something must already have happened.
Bis Freitag werde ich alles gepackt haben.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde geformt haben | I will have formed |
| du | wirst geformt haben | you will have formed |
| er/sie/es | wird geformt haben | he/she/it will have formed |
| wir | werden geformt haben | we will have formed |
| ihr | werdet geformt haben | you (pl.) will have formed |
| sie/Sie | werden geformt haben | they will have formed |
Subjunctive
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) Regular
Konjunktiv II is the mood for politeness, contrary-to-fact if-clauses, and reported views. In speech, würde + infinitive often stands in for rarer preterit-based forms.
Könnten Sie mir bitte helfen?
| Pronoun | German |
|---|---|
| ich | formte |
| du | formtest |
| er/sie/es | formte |
| wir | formten |
| ihr | formtet |
| sie/Sie | formten |
Other forms
Imperative (Imperativ) Regular
The imperative uses the du, ihr, and Sie forms of command; the informal du form drops the -st of the present for many strong verbs, and separable-prefix verbs place the prefix at the end.
Mach bitte schnell, der Zug fährt gleich ab.
| Pronoun | German |
|---|---|
| du | forme |
| ihr | formt |